Merry Winter Solstice 2015!

Are you ready for the new energy coming our way?

I love this night, the longest night of the year.  I find it mysterious, empowering, challenging an exciting!

For the past few years, the Winter Solstice not only marks a change in season - it's officially winter even though it's the warmest and rainiest December I've experienced - it also marks a change in energy.  I used to think that the whole Solstice, Aztec Calendar, 2012 predictions, Stonehedge ceremonies were just a bunch of New Age hocus pocus...  but then I noticed.  I noticed the subtle and not-so-subtle changes in my life that are seeded at the Solstice.  I noticed my change in outlook.  I noticed my change of energy.  I noticed the changes in my clients, colleagues and friends.  I experienced major shifts in my energy work, with more Guides, more precise energy, more confidence.  Strong with this experience, I now consider this night very special and holy indeed.

I love how this night is quiet - and yet is filled with energy.  If you really stop to listen, you might just hear your Guides speaking to you.  You might just hear messages from your animal spirit tribes.  You might hear love notes from deceased loved ones.  This is a night of deep magic.  This is a night of hope and love and learning.  This is such a special night to connect the different pieces of you that you've tried to hide but are now holding you back.  This is a night of healing.

As I write this, I see the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis coming forth with her deep blue wings, opened wide to welcome you in her embrace.  She is ready to help you on your journey to feeling whole, spiritually connected, empowered.  You only need to accept her Love and her help.

In her mythology, she travelled up and down the Nile River to find the pieces of her husband, the God Osiris, who had been dismembered by his vengeful brother in a struggle for the Egyptian throne.  Isis found all the pieces, created the first mummy, and the first mummification ritual to bring Osiris back to life.  In doing so, she also brought back Light (Osiris is the Sun God) and order to the Kingdom.  Hers was a journey of Love, of service, and deep life-giving magic for the highest good of all.  I love that she is stepping forward to be our guide this year!  She is one of the most ancient and powerful goddesses; let's get ourselves ready to work with her!

How?  Here are a few ideas:

• Give yourself some quiet time to reflect on pieces of you that you have left behind due to pain, shame, or the need to fit in.  Is it a funky, spunky part of your personality?  Is it your inner rebel?  Is it the part of you that truly believes in magic?  The part of you that believes in true love? Write about it in a journal, or draw a picture, or paint what this piece means to you.  Then close your eyes, and ask for help to make peace and find forgiveness.  Know that you are now strong enough to reintegrate that piece of you in your current life.  See yourself bringing that piece of you in your body.  Where does it fit?  Your heart?  A chakra?  Breathe it in, feel it... and take time to rest.  Now that you acknowledge that piece of you, what is possible for you?
• Put on your favourite music, and move your body!  Dance!  Too often, we allow our minds to direct our life...  for just a few songs, allow for your heart and your spirit to move you.  Find balance as you integrate your body, your spirit, your soul.  Enjoy your body and how it moves.  Speak lovely things to your body.  Listen for its wisdom.
• Light a deep blue candle in a gold dish.  Burn incense.  Meditate on your biggest dream, your biggest desire.  Ask for the courage and strength to find all the pieces of the puzzle, all the resources you need, and the wisdom to see your dream or desire manifest.  Remember that your quest will include action, not just wishful thinking.  Ask about your next right action step, listen for the answer, and DO IT.

Enjoy this special night and all the nurturing energies that are coming forth to help you to your own greatness.  Always remember your beauty and your magic.  Always remember that you are not alone on your journey, even though it might feel like it on the darkest of nights.  Walk through this new energetic portal with grace, and with a new feeling of wholeness and enchantment.

Do you need some extra help?  I'd love to help you uncover pieces of you that you've buried so deep you don't even remember what they are.  They hide under beliefs and patterns.  They might feel heavy or sluggish in your chakras.  They might feel like empty space in your heart.  See what can shift in a session with me.  Click here to book.

I am surrounding you in Love, and wishing you much Joy in this new year.

Rule #3 for asking masterful intuitive questions

I love the feedback I am receiving from the last two articles - I’m glad that the Rules for mastering Intuitive Readings are useful to you!  Keep sending your comments and questions; they help keep me motivated to write more.  Sometimes, I feel I’m writing to roomful of crickets which is the downside to online business, lol.  Might be part of my ego-mind, but I like feeling that I’m making a difference, don’t you?  So on that note, here are the rules that can make a big difference in your Intuitive Readings using your pendulum, Oracle cards, and any other spiritual tool:

Rule #1: I am the Queen of my life experience

Rule #2: Productive Questions are everything

Are you ready for Rule #3?  Here's the scoop:

The mind is the servant

Meditate with this quote, attributed to Albert Einstein: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.  We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

Are you ready to remember your gift?  My guess is that you are, since you're here reading this message.  But like many, you might have an internal struggle going on, because you might believe that putting the rational mind back in the service of your imagination and intuition means that you have to have a blank mind when you meditate, or worse, to give up on logic to become spiritual.  Fear not, for this is not true!

The ideal relationship between gift and servant is one of cooperation and mutual support, where each one draws on the strength of the other.  The intuitive mind can not do its work when it is overly controlled by logic.  The rational mind can not help you come to grounded and useful conclusions if it is governed by flights of fancy from pure dreaming or channelling energy.  They both work together to gather information from the spiritual and the physical worlds, so you can remain balanced, calm, and a manifestor extraordinaire!

When I meditate, I like to take a walk, or garden, or even do the dishes.  I find that when my rational mind is busy with a repetitive task, my intuitive mind can more easily travel.  Repetitive tasks can become very refreshing and insightful!

I tell my clients to give a name to their ego or thinking brains, because it helps to gain perspective and to find more creative solutions.  When the rational mind pops in with the grocery list, or fear-based thoughts, or that whole list of to-dos…  I simply say, “Thank you Professor Thinks-A-Lot, for alerting me to this issue.  Now, please take your clipboard and inventory all the good reasons and methods to bring me to my objective.”  Try it, and let me know how this works for you!

How does this apply to your Intuitive Readings?  With these principles:

• When you meditate or connect with your spiritual tool, your mind does not have to be perfectly calm. It has a job to do: to ask questions.  It becomes a private investigator uncovering the next right question to ask while your Higher Self and Spirit provide the answers.  (See Rule #2 to guide your question-finding quest)

• The optimal state of mind for Intuitive work is relaxed, calm, but alert; it is NOT a deep meditative state.  You should be able to remain aware of your environment and remain focused even if the cats jumps on your lap, the dog barks at a squirrel, or your kid comes in with an after school question.  I’m speaking from experience, here! 

• Remember that intuitive information is at all times driven by your intention.  Be aware of any agenda from your ego, or of the need to prove yourself right.  That will totally skew your results.  Also, because the voice of Spirit is softer than the voice of the ego, you’ll find that the mind will trump true intuitive insights if you are attached to the answer or the outcome.  

• Before you start, ask yourself why you want to tap into your intuition.  If you’re doing the work only out of curiosity - because you want to know what dress you were wearing in a past life, or what might happen in a potential situation, or what someone else might be thinking of you…  then you’re not looking for wisdom.  You are devaluing your gift by using it as entertainment.  Exercise discipline, and train yourself to ask for practical information you can use in your daily life.

I’ll give you more tips on this Rule, focusing on mind traps, in my next article.  Until then, I am surrounding you in White Light and Divine Love.

Are you already seeing results and shifts in your Intuitive Readings by applying these Golden Rules?  Let me know!

Rule #2 for mastering intuitive readings: Productive Questions are Everything

In my last article, I wrote about Rule #1 of Intuitive Readings, to help you work with more precision when asking for intuitive insights from your pendulum, Oracle cards, and any other spiritual tool.  If you’ve missed it, read it here:

Rule #1: I am the Queen of my life experience

Are you ready for Rule #2?  Here's the scoop:  productive questions are EVERYTHING.

When working with spiritual tools, the quality of the information we receive is at all times determined by the quality of the questions we ask.  The quality of our intuitive work is also directly impacted by our mental and emotional state of being.

I had a good laugh with one of my students recently.  We were talking about the various rules and laws of magical manifestation when she had one of those sudden flashes of wisdom.  It sounded like, “OMG this is SO TRUE!”  She shared that a while back she was using her Tarot cards to receive answers to a particular situation - but she was so anxious and agitated that every card she picked seemed to amplify and demonstrate her anxiety.  Out came the Tower Card, the Death card, swords, broken hearts, upheaval...  She came into her intuitive session thinking that her world was in chaos… and the cards kept showing her chaos.  Has this ever happened to you?

So remember Rule #1 - you are in charge of creating your reality.  If you strongly believe that the world is chaos, Spirit will not argue with your belief and will show you chaos.

And here’s the thing about Rule #2: if your thoughts and emotions are in chaos… so will the answers you will receive.  If you ask vague questions, you will receive vague answers.  If you ask about things you have absolutely no clue about how it works,  or no control over the outcome, the answers will not serve you well in the practical side of life.

Therefore:

• If you cannot define it, do not ask about it!  Remember high school math when you needed to define the value of “x” for the equation to make sense?  The same principle applies here.  If you don’t know what concepts such as “better for me”, “optimal”, “highest good”… etc… mean to YOU — then do your homework first and define them.  (Remember the exercise in the last article where you needed to define in great detail what being the Queen of your life would feel and look like BEFORE the dowsing work?  That is how you apply Rule #2!)
• Do not ask questions about things you do not control, such as how someone will react to your decision, what someone will think of you, how the stock market will react, etc.  It's really none of your business.  I'll explain more on this in the next article.
• Remain ethical, and to do not ask about how to make others see things your way.  That includes how to influence your child to follow your desire for him/her…  Often parents - including parents of adult children - tell me that they want to know how to make their son forgive this other person, or how to make their daughter stop a self-destructive behaviour, or how to make their child choose a different college...  I know it's tough - but your adult children have their own path, and their own karma to deal with.  Reframe your question instead on how you could best support them in what they are going through.  What would help you be more loving, centred and accepting of differences?  Lead by example.  If you lead by chaos and drama...  yes, that's what others will pick up in you, and that's what you will find amplified.  Spiritual guidance always starts with the self.
• Practice asking very specific questions!  The more specific you are in your questions, the more specific your answers will be.  See and feel the difference between these questions:  “Is this activity good for my business?”  vs. “Will this specific activity help increase my revenue by 20% in the month of December 2015?”  ...  "Is this essential oil good for me?" vs. "Can this essential oil help reduce my symptoms of (...)?"  Capice?
• If you’re in a state of panic…  practice self-care FIRST.  Be centred, calm, and detached from any answer you might receive before picking up your spiritual divination tool.

I’ll write about Rule #3, dealing with mind matters, in my next article.  Until then, I am surrounding you in White Light and Divine Love.

Has this article been useful to you?  I'd love to hear your experiences and read your comments.

Are you breaking Rule #1 for asking powerful questions for intuitive insights

We’ve all been there.  Thinking of changing jobs.  Totally frustrated with our love life.  Heartbroken.  Confused.  Directionless.  So so deeply wanting to be comforted and being told that we’re on the right path, doing the right thing, taking the right decision.

We want our spirit guides, the angels, God and Goddess to tell us what to do next.  We promise to do as they say… could they just not give a clear to-do list?  We don’t take action because we are waiting for Spirit or Universe or “them” to give us permission.

So many students and clients tell me how frustrated they are that their pendulum, Oracle Card, or crystal “doesn’t work” and gives them confusing answers.  Or they tell me that a psychic once told them that they should do this or that, and that it didn’t work.  They ask questions like these:

... Should I take this class?  Should I stay in this relationship?  Should I apply for this job?  Am I supposed to go on this trip?  Will I find love one day?  Can I afford this?…  

These questions break so many rules!

Here’s what I learned: no one — NO ONE — holds your map of destiny except for YOU.

This means that you get to choose what you want to experience, and then work with Spirit to figure out the how.  Here’s the deal: when you ask questions with, “Should I”; “Am I supposed to”; “Can I” or “Will I”…  what is happening at soul level is that you are abdicating your authority over your life!  You are asking someone else, or an oracle tool, to choose or decide for you.  You are breaking rule #1 of Intuitive Readings:

Rule #1: I am the Queen of my life experience

So then, as the Queen — or Goddess, King, CEO — of your life experience, what questions could you ask that would be more powerful and insightful?  Try this exercise.

Taking back your power exercise

1. Light a candle, play soft music, burn incense…  do what you need to do to feel zen.
2. Brainstorm on what it would be like to truly be the Queen of your life.  How would you feel?  What would a perfect day look like?  Who would be surrounding you?  What would be the state of your finances?  How would your home or work environment be like?  Describe in as much detail as possible.
3. List at least five (5) possible ACTIONS you could take THIS WEEK to bring yourself to this state of awareness and being-ness. 
4. Take your favourite Oracle tool (pendulum or muscle testing would work best).  Breathe and centre yourself, then ask the following questions:

Given that it is my intention to experience myself as the Queen of my life experience…

• Is [name or number of the listed action] in alignment with manifesting my intention this week?

• Is any of these actions more aligned to manifesting my intention than the others?  Which one?  Is it [Action name of number]?

• Do I give myself permission, at a soul level, to proceed with this chosen action?

5.  Follow up with your personal reading, and TAKE ACTION!

6.  Share your insights and your results - let’s inspire each other!


I’ll write about Rule #2, dealing with clarity of intention, in my next article.  Until then, I am surrounding you in White Light and Divine Love.

PS.: Did you want to learn more about trusting your intuition and using Oracle tools?  Take a look at my Intuition Development Program.  Offered online starting in 2016.

Is fear holding you back from developing your intuition?

I’ve been talking to many wonderful women recently about intuition.  I’ve given several women (and a few men) their very first Intuitive Reading or Reiki Session.  I love their honesty when they come up to me and say, “It’s my first time, and I’m a bit afraid.”  It takes courage to try something new, and to do something that’s a bit scary.  I’m truly honoured to have shared this moment of their first official intuitive experience.

One of the things I am passionate about is talking with people about this fear they have of intuitive experiences.  I love talking about it because it’s something I’ve had to overcome, and I discovered how sweet, creative, and joyful life can be once you realize that intuition is not scary at all.  Like many, I once imagined that only a turban-wearing, heavy-makeup’d, gypsy- hippie- or witchy-looking person spending hours gazing in crystal balls (or worse, fish entrails) and smelling heavily of patchouli was an “intuitive/psychic”.  I thought that only bubbly, ill-educated, and emotionally manipulative people would assert themselves as being psychic.  And then, of course, there was my Catholic upbringing and the ingrained “fear of the devil”…  Thank goodness I discovered that being intuitive and psychic doesn’t have to be like that!  I find it funny now when people tell me, “You’re psychic?  But you look so grounded and normal!”

Yes, I am normal.  (Whatever that is, lol!)  And tapping into your intuition is normal, too.  It’s absolutely natural, and I believe everyone can do it.  I can teach you how.

The first thing I really want you to know is that you are powerful.  You have free will.  At every moment of every day, you are responsible for creating your life experience through your choices.  You can choose your thoughts, your emotions, and your perceptions.  You can choose how you create your life.  To me, this journey with intuition is first and foremost this journey of personal empowerment, using our subtle senses (aka intuition) to inform our life’s choices.  All of my teachings hinge on this important and profound belief.

What does this mean for you?  It means that, when you learn to read Oracle Cards, or use a pendulum, or use muscle testing…  you ARE NOT transferring your power to the psychic tool!  That’s all they are, the cards, the pendulums, the crystals… they are tools to help you tune into and express your truth.  They are not the psychic, the oracle, the intuitive - YOU ARE.  So, if you’re afraid of tapping into your intuition, it is worthwhile to ask yourself what are you truly afraid of…  what personal truth have you been hiding from yourself and are reluctant to face?  In my students, it often looks like fear of rejection, fear of not conforming to a social/family norm, fear of not being able to handle heightened senses, fear of change, fear of letting go of that self-image that they worked so hard to create all their life in an effort to fit in…  It turns out that what they are really afraid of is not Spirit, or their Intuition…  they are afraid to give themselves permission to be who they truly are: an inspired, powerful, divine co-creator.  Can you breathe into that? Join the conversation in my Facebook group “Coming Out of the Spiritual Closet” and share how this applies to you.

Trust me, when you’re ready to accept the fact that you ARE a bit different than the norm; when you are ready to OWN that, and learn that you can happily live in society with your gifts; when you realize that the persona you built around your need to conform, be accepted or fit it is a mask - not your true self…   Phew!  That’s when inner peace can set in, and intuition can really kick in.

Next time, I’ll teach you how this important lesson translates into asking powerful and insightful intuitive questions.  I’ll tell you why it’s not the pendulum’s fault if you’re getting confused answers, and will give you tips to ensure you are getting the best possible intuitive answers.

Goddess Blessings on this Equinox!

Happy Equinox!

Goddesses are both happy, joyful, bountiful...  AND can be angry and spiteful.  This is a time to honour them in all their humanity.  It's also a reminder to embrace our own Light AND Shadow.

“…but Jaz, what’s an Equinox?”  

The Equinox marks the time of the year when the amount of daylight is equal to the amount of darkness.  If my Latin is right (and I make no claims at being a savant, here)…  equi = equal, and nox = night.  Daytime is the same duration as night time.  On September 22nd in the Northern hemisphere, it marks the official beginning of Autumn, while down-under, it’s the official start of Spring.  And that’s the scientific explanation.

“…so, Jaz, don’t you typically write about spiritual feel-good themes?  What does the Equinox have to do with this?”

The way I celebrate my spirituality is informed not only by my intuition, but also by the cycle of Nature and by history.  These are the three most important aspects of my inner life, and what I LOVE sharing with you.  I turn to these elements when I try to understand what the heck is going on in the world around me, and within me.

And at this time, “what the heck” is a very mild way of putting things.  Haven’t you noticed your computer going haywire for the weirdest thing?  Have you not felt a rise in your anxiety, stress, anger or state of confusion?  Do you not feel that “something’s gotta change” - but you don’t know what, or when, or how?  All this jittery energy is right on cue with the Equinox, believe it or not. The Equinox marks a change in season, a change of mood, a change in self-care, and time for introspection.

The Cycle of Nature
At this time of year, the squirrels in my backyard are literally going nuts (yes, I went there!).  The birds, insects, all forms of critters are busy building their food cache and putting on weight either for the upcoming hibernation, or their migration to warmer climate.  As for the farmers, they are deep in harvesting time.  And so many homemakers and kitchen witches are busy drying herbs and canning preserves for the year ahead.  The natural world is abuzz with activity.  With this in mind, reflect on your life:

• Look at how you’re dealing with work, family, projects.  Do you feel there’s too much on your plate?  What can you save for later?  
• Take a good look at your daily activities: are you just being busy for the sake of keeping busy - or are you being productive?
• In your energy, health, and wealth: what are you keeping in reserve?
• This is also a time of balance. Daylight and nighttime are equal. Take time to center yourself and mirror the balance of the equinox in your life. Remind yourself to play as hard as you work and love your Light as much as you embrace your Shadow.

History
Traditionally, our ancestors have marked this time of year with a harvest festival and a time to reflect on the past season’s abundance.  They celebrated the second harvest and the start of winter preparations. They made plans to care for the tribe during the winter months, and decided on how the harvest would be shared.  Several tribes made preparations to change from their summer hunting grounds to their winter grounds, often following their source of food.  With this in mind, reflect on your life:

• When you feel the jitters and you want to move, change scenery, go somewhere warm for the winter - you are vibing with the migratory animals.  If you’re not moving for the winter, see if you can do a day trip or a weekend getaway.  Maybe you’d like to redecorate one room in your home, or take out the Fall decorations to change the scenery and feel of your environment.
• Give thanks for your many blessings and reflect on how you can improve yourself and your community.   
• Celebrate your business and personal successes.  Make an inventory of the seed-ideas you want to keep, those that need time or research before growing, and those that you want to release.  Clutter clear your office.

Spirituality, Intuition, and the Goddess
In Greek mythology Autumn is associated with the return of the goddess Persephone to the underworld.  Just the thought of loosing her beautiful daughter, even for only a few months, caused Persephone’s mother Demeter to act out in grief, anger and sadness: she created winter and her sorrow caused snow to cover the land and it was impossible to grow food.  Demeter went as far as making a pact with the Lord of Darkness and the underworld, Hades, to ensure that her daughter would be able to emerge to the surface for a few months every year - but how she grieved the absence of her daughter!

• To celebrate Demeter: acknowledge what gives you grief and anger at this time.  Write it out.  Yell it, cry it, dance it.  Keeping it in will only make matters worse, not only for yourself, but for the other people in your life who still depend on you.  Let it out, get the help you need…  and know deep down that “this too shall pass”…  Call upon Demeter’s energy to give you courage and strength to face your darkest fears.
• To celebrate Persephone: she was taken to the underworld against her conscious will.  Others decided her fate, and she had very little to say.  Acknowledge those things in your life where you feel lost, confused, and not in control.  Call upon the energy of Persephone to help you get out of the victim or martyr mode.  Ask her to keep your imagination and your curiosity open - so if Destiny brings you to a dark place…  what can you discover there that could be brought back up to the Light at a later time?  If you’re not in control of the situation, you can still be in control of yourself, your emotions, your reactions, and your fears.  What can you learn from your darkness?  Persephone can help light your way.

Can you see how tapping into the cycles of Nature, History and Spirituality can give sense to your every day life?  Does it help you understand the subtle energies that are currently influencing your mood, sleep patterns, choices and behaviours?  Do you need help navigating your darkness?  Would you like to learn to leverage your grief or deal with your jitters?  Let's talk.

I am wishing you an enlightened, joyful, and spirited Equinox.  May the Goddesses shower their gifts of wisdom upon you.

Are your values fed by fears?

Here's a nugget of wisdom I gained while teaching last evening.  I explained what is an ethical dilemma, and how at its core, such a dilemma happens when two or more values that we hold near and dear to our heart are in conflict.  This can be an external conflict, e.g. my core values are different than yours, and we are in disagreement about what to do.  It can also be an internal conflict, e.g. my core values are changing and I'm not sure where I stand anymore.  We put this in context with a typical Lightworker scenario: using your magic, mojo, vibes, etc. to manifest a really great parking lot on a busy shopping day.  Easy breezy for some people... but for many Lightworkers, this is a difficult, uncomfortable, internal-sweats-and-palpitations moment.  Why?

We examined the values that might be at odds.  We agreed that compassion and caring for others, and standing firm in our personal power are likely conflicting.  And when we dug a little deeper...  we noticed that the value we hold dear, that of compassion and caring -- e.g. what if an elderly person, or a pregnant woman, really needed that spot and I just took it from her?  -- is not only conflicting with the teaching and value of standing in your power; but standing in our power and manifesting through intention and magic is also conflicting with deep FEARS.  And there's a big fear here... that when we ask for a parking spot, or money, or ease in our day... we are not working for the Highest Good (an other BIG value for Lightworkers).  The internal conflict of being confident in our energy work & trust that Spirit knows best and will manifest according to divine will...  and the fear instilled in us (in many lifetimes?) about the "bad" or "evil" or "egoic" practices of energy work - and that we have to work for the entire community/world, and never request anything for ourself.

Ooooh...  That's my lightbulb moment from last night.

Can you see any of these values and conflicts at play in your life, and in your decision-making patterns?

Part of our "ohm-work" is to reexamine our values, and to ask ourselves - is this really true?  Am I really holding on to this value out of Love, and in Alignment with my Highest Self?  Or am I holding on to this value because I have been taught this is the right thing / good girl /zen thing to do?  Am I holding on to it because I am afraid of not being good enough, powerful enough, deserving enough of requesting what my heart and Higher Self truly desire for me to experience in this lifetime?  Am I afraid to ruffle feathers?

When you truly understand your values, you get insights into why you do the things you do.  And then, when you realize your values have shifted, or need to shift, because you are awakening to a new paradigm...  then it's easier to choose new decisions and actions based on values that are aligned with who you are, now.

Does this make sense?

I know I'll be working on old patterns of behaviour and actions now that I have identified what I do because I've secretly been holding on to fear...  And that's because being fearless and courageous are values I hold dear.

How about you?  Are you ready to review your values?  Are you ready to change your behaviours?  Need help to see clearly through the forest? Reach out - I can help!